As he predicted for himself earlier this month, Patriots’ fourth-year running back Rhamondre Stevenson joined a not-so-exclusive club in New England this week.
He became the latest if not necessarily greatest young core player to re-sign with a Patriots team looking to rebuild and bounce back from a dismal decline from the dynasty that cost the man who drafted many of these players and oversaw said dynasty – the now-unemployed Bill Belichick – his job.
Offensive lineman Mike Onwenu got the money ball rolling after testing free agent waters.
Kyle Dugger turned a transition tag into a lucrative long term deal.
Christian Barmore – the big man with the biggest upside in the group – got nearly $100 million to remain the foundational force of the defensive front.
Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings and others put their names on the dotted line. As did a few possibly critical veterans like Hunter Henry, David Andrews and Kendrick Bourne.
It was all part of the plan that newly-minted Executive Vice President Eliot Wolf proclaimed – an intention to draft and develop – at the NFL Scouting Combine, before he even oversaw his first draft in the collaborative Foxborough war room.
Wolf then went out and put forth a need-based approach to drafting, nabbing a quarterback, two wide receivers and a developmental tackle with his first four selections. He literally and figuratively went on the draft weekend offensive to retool and inject youthful life in a unit that was offensive in the worst sense of the description last fall costing Mac Jones his once-promising Patriots’ career.
This critical offseason Wolf kept what he thought was key talent. Added to the young mix via draft.
To steal a phrase that may no longer be the top motto on the repainted walls inside Gillette Stadium, Wolf did his job.
Are the Patriots the most talented team in the NFL?
No one would even think to ask that question, never mind answer it in the affirmative. Next question.
Is New England better than the squad that petered out for just four wins last fall, earning the right to select would-be franchise QB Drake Maye with April’s No. 3 overall pick?
That’s debatable, a debate that will probably ensue in the coming weeks and months before the rubber meets the rubber pellets of the FieldTurf in declarative on-field action come September.
But the roster is what it is.
(Geez, why can’t we get these phrases out of our minds??!! Next thing you know I’ll be typing that we’re… on to Cincinnati. Oh, son of a Belichick! Are you telling me the next New England game is against the Bengals?)
The talent that we see on the Patriots.com roster is the foundation of the talent we’re going to see on the field for 17 grueling weeks this fall. Forthcoming minor roster-rebuilding moves aside, this is what we have. Wolf’s long term plan and vision for what is now his era of Robert Kraft’s team is nowhere near finished. But the first step is.
That means it’s now just about time for first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and his staff to step into the spotlight. While they and the rest of the NFL are in the annual lull in the calendar that provides rare professional sports vacation time with the family, less than a month from now they’ll reconvene to recalibrate the future of the franchise.
How do Mayo and lead offensive voice Alex Van Pelt build the offense around Stevenson and develop Maye?
How does the man whose initials are also his job title – defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington – pull together a unit that’s expected to be the returning strength of the team and best chance to win football games in a league that is generally considered to be weighted toward offensive success?
Does the new culture and new Patriots way of doing things gain traction or spin its wheels?
There are plenty of questions about the new, next era of New England football. Some have been answered by Wolf’s offseason of work and others in that area of roster building will be tabled for future consideration.
The bulk of Wolf’s work is done, for now. He’s put together what he believes is the best possible roster for 2024 with an eye on the future.
Mayo’s work is just about to begin. A big job. A tough job.
One that will decide the success of the 2024 Patriots.
Enjoy your time off, Coach. Because soon enough, you’ll need to … Do your job!
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